When I emerged from Garapito Canyon my shoes, socks, shorts and shirt were soaking wet. A group of hikers were nearby and one asked if it rained while I was down in the canyon. It hadn’t, but it might as well have.
Our wetter than normal rain season has produced a lush crop of annual grasses — some as tall as waist high — that have overgrown sections of many local trails.
Water droplets on the feathery styles of Chaparral Clematis.
Overnight, light rain had coated every blade of grass and every leaf and limb of brush along the Garapito Trail with water droplets. Running through the wet grass was like passing through the wet brushes of a refrigerated car wash.
I happened to be wearing Gortex-lined running shoes, which was laughable considering the amount of water that had run down my legs and into the shoes. They were just as wet as if I had waded through a creek. Well-fitting gaiters might have helped, and at least would have kept the foxtails out of my saturated socks.
Seasonal snowfall in the mountains of Southern California is inconsistent at best. According to Tony Crocker’s Your Guide to Snowfall, in the past 20 years SoCal snowfall has ranged from a record high of 267 inches during the strong El Nino of 1997-98, to a low of 29 inches in 2013-14 during our prolonged drought.
Snow-covered slopes from the PCT near Little Jimmy Spring.
So far this season, Your Guide to Snowfall’s total for SoCal is 143 inches, which is a bit above average and far more than we’ve had in recent years. After seeing the amount of snow on the higher peaks of the San Gabriels from Mt. Waterman a couple weeks ago, I was curious to see what the conditions were on the PCT between Islip Saddle (6650′) and Mt. Baden-Powell (9399′).
Joining me on today’s adventure was Patty Duffy. An avid outdoorsperson and ultrarunner, Patty did the JMT last year, and will soon be embarking on an epic border-to-border journey on the Pacific Crest Trail. Epitomizing the “hope is not a strategy” approach to challenges, today she was using much of the gear she would be using on the PCT — and in addition — carrying a sleeping bag, tent, stove and two days food!
Icy stretch of snow on the PCT at 7100′, about 0.7 mile from Islip Saddle.
Even though we started an hour later than normal, and temperatures had warmed the past couple of days, the snow on the shaded, north-facing slopes was still icy. Two hikers on their way down from Little Jimmy had trouble crossing one slippery slope. They had no crampons or micro-spikes and threw dirt on the snow to get by. It was obvious when we reached the area they described – a northeast facing gully. The slope was steep enough that a fall would have been very serious. Steep slopes, chutes and gullies are common along the trail between Islip Saddle and Baden-Powell.
Pine Mountain, Dawson Peak and Mt. Baldy from near Mt. Hawkins.
The question of what is appropriate gear for hiking an icy trail in this kind of terrain doesn’t have a simple answer. Boots, “real” crampons, and an ice axe provide a lot of security when crossing a steep, icy slope; but many other combinations of footwear, traction devices, poles, and self-arrest tools are commonly used. Conditions can rapidly improve or deteriorate and equipment can fail. Whatever combination of equipment is selected it’s important to understand its use and limitations.
After reaching an elevation of about 8000′, we stayed on the crest all the way to Mt. Hawkins (8850′) and the Mt. Hawkins lightning tree. The ridge route had the advantage of being mostly snow-free, but in places is quite rocky and steep. There are also a number of downed trees scattered across the ridge — vestiges of the 2002 Curve Fire.
Patty on the summit of Mt. Hawkins (8850′).
In middle of Winter in 2014 there was so little snow on the PCT between Islip Saddle and Mt. Baden-Powell it was possible to run to Baden-Powell and back, do Mt. Hawkins, Throop Peak and Mt. Burnham along the way, and be back to Islip Saddle in the early afternoon. Not today. Winter’s storms had left more of the trail snow-covered than snow-free — and not with just a little snow.
A little beyond the Hawkins – Throop Peak saddle we stopped at a sunny, wind-protected spot with a nice view of Mt. Baldy for a few minutes, and then headed down. The snow conditions had improved considerably, and at one point we glissaded down a short slope.
It had been another outstanding day in the mountains, and I could only sigh, thinking of the many great days and experiences that Patty would have on the Pacific Crest Trail.
Flood debris against a redwood along Crags Road in Malibu Creek State Park
My plan had been to check on the MCSP redwoods and then do the Phantom Loop. Running along Crags Road west of Century Lake I started noticing flood debris along the trail, but it wasn’t until I reached the bridge across Malibu Creek that the magnitude of the flooding became evident. Most of the bridge’s wooden railings had been swept away and debris hung in the trees 10-15 feet above the creek.
View downstream from bridge across Malibu Creek on Crags Road.
The flooding resulted from heavy rainfall associated with an atmospheric river that hit the area on February 17. Between 4:00 a.m. and midnight the Remote Automated Weather Station near Malibu Canyon Road and Piuma Road recorded 4.45 inches of rain. Runoff was increased by the soil being nearly saturated from the above average rainfall we’ve experienced this rain season.
Many streams in the area experienced high flows on February 17. According to provisional USGS data Sespe Creek near Fillmore peaked at 34,000 cfs at 7:45 p.m.; the Ventura River near Ventura peaked at 20,400 cfs at 5:45 p.m. and the Los Angeles River at Sepulveda Dam peaked at 16,700 cfs at 4:30 p.m.
Eventually I returned to the Forest Trail and checked on the redwoods. My impression is that the trees in trouble have continued to degrade and the trees in better condition are holding their own. I will be curious to see how much new foliage there is later in the growing season.
I never did make it to the Phantom Trail but did have a nice run over to the Tapia Spur Trail.
This is a view of East Las Virgenes Canyon from the power line service road that connects the Las Virgenes Canyon Trailhead to Cheeseboro Ridge. East Las Virgenes Canyon is part of the Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve (formerly Ahmanson Ranch).
From this afternoon’s keyhole loop run from the Victory Trailhead to Cheeseboro Ridge.
View of upper Santa Ynez Canyon and the Eagle Rock area of Topanga State Park from East Topanga Fire Road. From today’s run from the Top of Reseda to the Los Liones Trailhead and back.
Green is what you get when so much rain falls on a valley oak savanna. This is a view west, down East Las Virgenes Creek, toward Las Virgenes Canyon. The ridge in the distance is between Las Virgenes and Cheeseboro Canyons.
